Building a brand with women, the Internet way

Women, in general, do not respond to an aggressive full-frontal marketing attack, nor are they terribly impressed when you spend lakhs and crores on advertisements.

The Net provides an opportunity to be a part of the multiple lives that every woman leads - as homemaker, working professional, wife, mother, daughter, the family nutritionist, spiritual anchor and maybe even a social connector.

AN INFLUENCER, a conflict handler, an opinion leader, an information seeker - just a few of the roles played by the woman, your true brand ambassador. The one who not only buys but also influences nearly everything that is bought.

She thinks different she not only sees the wood but also the trees - the leaves, the twigs, the bushes and the general topography - all the specifics that make up the whole. Everything matters to her, even the most trivial, which means there is a need to position your brand intelligently because she not merely buys your brand, she joins it.

Women, in general, do not respond to an aggressive full-frontal marketing attack, nor are they terribly impressed when you spend lakhs and crores on advertisements. Their thought processes almost seem to suggest that the same money could have been used to alleviate current social ills that plague our society, like poverty, malnutrition, aids and illiteracy.

But they need to be aware of your presence in the market - it is like this: if she has to ask about it, it is already too late. Hence proactively positioning your brand at the right spot at the right time becomes essential and with the ever-expanding media avenues the Internet seems the obvious answer, the right road to reach her.

The Internet provides you an opportunity to be a part of her peripheral vision even while focusing her thoughts on what you really are saying to her. It can enable you to make your product appear on the periphery, within the natural setting of her daily life, and not by jumping up and down waving a flag to catch her attention. If you can find a place on the cyberspace for your brand to show up where she least expects it, ironically, that will make a deeper impact and impression than bulldozing and blitzing her with attractive advertisements.

And it also naturally follows that if you have one happy woman customer you can look forward to many more because recommendations work well in their circle. Suggestions of friends, colleagues, peers or relatives are and can become highly influencing factors. And according to marketing experts, women are three times more likely to recommend a brand to their friends than men. Hence connecting your women customers to one another connects them in turn to your brand and what better way to do this than through the Internet that offers limitless connectivity!

The Net also provides you an opportunity to be a part of the multiple lives that every woman leads, as a homemaker, a working professional, a wife, a mother, a daughter, the family nutritionist, a spiritual anchor and maybe even a social connector. This medium helps you keep in touch with her 24 hours a day, seven days a week and gives you the chance to be there for her just when she needs you.

Sony Corporation projects marketing plans 25 years ahead and they are strong advocates for anticipatory marketing. It is anticipated that in the next five years women browsers will constitute more than 60 per cent of the Internet community.

Constant connection and feedback with the woman browser will not only enable you anticipate future demands but have a good idea about her current desires as well. The idea is not to lose her in the first place, that way you do not have to worry about getting her back. This is where the Internet comes in to help you reach and retain her as your brand advocate.

Apart from all of this, the Internet brings with it privacy. She seeks information and takes decision on `intimate' products and also finds answers to `embarrassing questions' and chats with other women on personal and common issues. The more questions she asks and the more information you provide, the more her trust in you grows, and she begins to buy more from you, and starts recommending you and slowly builds a brand community.

The Internet is unique in that it provides an opportunity for three generations of women in the same family to connect with each other on an informed platform! If the information provided is true and of high quality, then you have three generations of users who share the same belief about your brand.

Through the Net you can go right to the woman browser, who is buying your product, and answer the questions she asks about everything directly, going beyond shopping and even buying patterns. Find out what and how she feels about global warming, fat-free foods, cloning, vegetarianism and other women specific issues. You can take your brand to the woman's home - she does not have to come to the department store to find it.

Homemakers spend a lot of their time at home and thousands of women have started their home business right off the kitchen table. So, going to her home to sell your products becomes imperative and totally necessary. She, in turn, saves a lot of time by going online and can spend the saved time with her family.

Probably, the most important and final truth about marketing to women is that everything matters and you just cannot hide behind your logo. Eventually, she will see right through it all. Marketing to the women of today is not just about value, it is about values. She constantly looks for that `something more' - she sees your brand all the way through to the company behind it, its roots and even its founder. Transparency does not leave any room for inconsistency and the Internet can help you build a transparent brand with women.

Ultimately women do business with people they trust, people they know are open about their actions and act with respect to their conscience. The Internet provides you an opportunity to talk to her about your corporate beliefs, policies, brands and more importantly the value addition you bring into her life. Through your brand, if you can tell her what she needs to know and what she wants to know to lead an enriched life and there is a good chance that she will join your brand and help build your brandcommunity.

Ashok Mirza

Chairman, Sitagita.com

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